ALICE ON & OFF

Documentary Film Competition, Sarajevo 2024

Original language: Romanian

Subtitles: English

Directed by: Isabela Tent

Country: Romania

Year of production: 2024

Length: 86 minutes

Genre: documentary

Filmed over ten years, this is the story of Alice, an unloved girl trapped in a young mother's life. At 16, she falls in love with Dorian, 35 years her senior. Although she marries him and has their son, Aristo, the familiar echoes of her own neglected childhood resurface. Alice struggles in a family dynamic where she's solely responsible for providing – for the child, for Dorian – resorting to live-chat sex work, leaving her own needs behind. She is forced to give up her studies at the Fine Arts University, leaves her family and sees Aristo only occasionally over the years, all while battling a substance addiction. An unflinching portrait of the replication of trauma across generations as Alice struggles to maintain a presence in her son's life, follow her dreams, and find herself.

Credits

Isabela Tent – Director

Isabela Tent – Cinematography

Letiţia Ştefănescu – Editing

Petre Osman, Alex Dragomir – Sound